A Sunday in Herbert Von King Park

July 1, 2019 Noah Goldberg

Brooklyn’s parks are the closest most neighborhoods get to a town square, a refuge for all across class and culture. Coming to you not from the fields of Prospect Park, but the smaller spots across the borough, “A Sunday in…” spotlights residents who turn to the commons — and asks what’s on their mind.

“The people in this delightful locality naturally deserve a pleasure ground.”

It is a pleasure ground on a weekend afternoon. In one corner of the park, kids played little league baseball and dogs ran around a small dog park. In another corner, sunbathers laid out on the grass. Some barbecued while others played basketball.

From star-crossed lovers who met on Grindr to longtime Bed-Stuy residents to a Brooklyn newcomer trying to find people apartments, there was plenty going on in Herbert Von King Park on Sunday.

Paul

Paul took his ninth grandchild to the park Sunday. Eagle photo by Noah Goldberg

Paul has lived in a Greene Avenue apartment across the street from Herbert Von King Park for 30 years, since he moved to Brooklyn from Georgia. “They used to call this ‘Hangman’s Park,’ because they used to hang people here: the gangs and the drug dealers,” Paul said.

The park used to be full of “crackheads,” he added, but that never stopped him from coming out to the park during the day. “You could always come and sit. That wasn’t the problem. Nighttime was the problem,” he said.

Paul likes to smoke cigarettes and “that plant they call cannabis” to keep himself sane.

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June

On her 69th birthday, June spends time with her family at Herbert Von King Park. Eagle photo by Noah Goldberg

Turns out June was born in June — Sunday was her 69th birthday. A time to reflect on aging.

“I’m more experienced now. Some days it’s better to be old, and some days it’s better to be young,” she said.

“The point is to enjoy every day, whether you are 29, 49 or 69,” said June, who spent her birthday barbecuing with her two daughters and husband in Herbert Von King Park. June lives in East New York, where she’s been for 39 years since she came to the USA from Guyana.

“The only difference is the weather; we don’t have snow there,” she said.

Dave

Dave has a lot of ideas about Herbert Von King Park. He thinks the bathrooms have been under construction too long and that they should turn an underused field into another basketball court. It’s these ideas and his seven days a week in the park that earned him the moniker “park ranger” from his friends.

“I’ve lived here from 1984 until now. That’s how many years?” he asked. “I come here at least seven days a week. There’s nothing like a park.”

Alton

“The park donated the instruments to us. Since then we’ve been coming here to do our thing,” he said. While Alton lives in Queens, he prefers Brooklyn and loves Herbert Von King Park. “I love this park. It’s quiet. It has a stage. It has a performing area. Not all parks have that.”

Jose and Claude

Jose and Claude met on Grindr in Miami of course. They came to the park to smoke weed and meditate. Jose, who lives in Los Angeles, is just visiting New York.

“I’ve lived in Los Angeles for three years and I prefer fucking LA,” Jose said. “New York was the first place I fell in love with, but it’s so zany I don’t have the spontaneity to keep up. I like things to be chill.”

Jim

Jim passes some time in the park before showing a client an apartment. Eagle photo by Noah Goldberg

Jim, a real estate agent for Nooklyn, was reading “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” while waiting for a client to show an apartment to Sunday. Jim says he tries to place one or two people in apartments each week. “It takes a lot of time. It’s a long process. I love it. It’s awesome and rewarding when you find somebody what they want. You’re providing a service and that’s always nice. And then sometimes it doesn’t work out. And that sucks.”

Jim moved to New York from Mississippi a year ago. He recently saw a naked woman run through the sprinklers at this park.

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The Brooklyn Daily Eagle and brooklyneagle.com cover Brooklyn 24/7 online and five days a week in print with the motto, “All Brooklyn All the Time.” With a history dating back to 1841, the Eagle is New York City’s only daily devoted exclusively to Brooklyn.